The Final Four

This coming Saturday and Monday in Indianapolis, Indiana will be the final of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The final four teams will be Duke playing Michigan State, and Kentucky facing Wisconsin. Michigan State is the lowest seed left in the tournament. Duke, Kentucky, and Wisconsin are all #1 seeds. So I would say those picked the seeding did a pretty good job.

Personally I am rooting for Michigan State to beat Duke and Wisconsin beating Kentucky. In the final on Monday I am picking Michigan State to beat Wisconsin. These games should all beat pretty good games. I am sure Kentucky is still favored to win the whole thing. They actually were lucky because they beat Notre Dame by two points with six seconds remaining. Kentucky was fouled with the six seconds remaining. They made both free throws, and Notre Dame was unable to connect at the end. Likely it was a defensive foul but it was really a close call. It could have gone either way. Personally I would not have made the call since it was so close. The game should have gone into overtime. It was a hard loss for Notre Dame. Kentucky has not lost a game all season long. Most likely the starters for Kentucky will go into the NBA. Since the NBA cannot take players out of high school right now the ones that could go into the NBA play one season of college ball and then go into the NBA. Often Kentucky does that every year. It is sad that happens though they are playing by the rules; however, this means a lot of people root for the opposition.

When Duke faces Michigan State this will be the 12^th time at Duke that Coach K will be in the final four. He is so excited because this is the youngest team he has taken to the final four.

Wisconsin had another good season that placed them in as number 1 seed. They play in the Big Ten who generally have a lot of good teams. Also, Michigan State is from the Big Ten as well. No one expected them to make this far into the tournament. In fact going into the final eight was a surprise as well.

I thought the round of 64 was by far the most exciting round of all. There were a total of five games that were won by one point on the first day. Also, there were some other close games. Georgia State was the most surprised by beating Baylor on a three pointer at the end of the game; however, they lost in the round of 32. It would have been real exciting if they would have gone to round sixteen. Another team that had a good go in the tournament was North Carolina State. They lost in the final eight.

So let’s go Michigan State. I am rooting for you all the way.

In other news that was very sad over the weekend the Seattle Mariners minor league pitcher and number eleven prospect in their system passed away. About a week before spring training in early September he was hit by a boat while swimming. Up until this weekend he had been in a coma. Most players in the Mariners system including the major leagues were hoping that he would make a total recovery. Last season he played for the Mariners Jackson General double A team. He died at such a young age of twenty. He was the youngest player in the league and four years younger than the average age. His teammates said that he was a joyful young man and was very mature for his age. He could have pitched for the Mariners Triple A team which is in Tacoma, Washington just about a half an hour drive south of Seattle depending on traffic. Also, it is less than ten minutes away from where I live at Cheney Stadium. I may have had a chance to see him pitch as I go to a few games every year. He may have had a chance to start for the Mariners in 2016. Most of the players are dedicating this year to Victor Sanchez. Our thoughts are with his family in Venezuela where the accident occurred as well.

Until next time have yourself a great week.